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One in three Israeli women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime. Israeli women cannot get divorced without their husbands consent. Israel men currently earn 58 percent more than women. Although illegal, polygamy is still widely practiced in Bedouin communities. Of the thousands of women who turn to NIF grantee Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, only 20% are prepared to report crimes of rape and sexual harassment to the police. Ethiopians comprise 1% of the population, yet 25% of women killed by their husbands or partners in the past 10 years have been Ethiopian immigrants.

In a society influenced by the patriarchal values embedded in the most rigid interpretation of Jewish and Muslim religious traditions, Israeli women face serious hurdles in the quest for gender equality. As in other western democracies, women in Israel struggle to break the glass ceilings in many professions and face income inequality. But unlike other developed nations, Israel has no civil marriage or divorce, binding women to the religious courts which notoriously favor their estranged husbands. Women in Arab and Bedouin communities face additional challenges, including polygamy, restrictions on work and property ownership, and increased rates of domestic violence.

To learn about the NIF's work securing women's rights in Irael visit the Women, Patriarchy, and Religion campaign information page.